Mostar: World Intellectual Property Day celebrated
Mostar, April 26, 2023 - Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the project "EU Support for Intellectual Property Rights in BiH" (EUSIPR) funded by the European Union, organized a conference on the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day April 26th.
The conference participants were presented with a new service of the Institute - IP pre-diagnostics, a panel discussion "Women and intellectual property" was held, and the winning works were presented with the awards ceremony for the public tender on the topic "Women and intellectual property: Improving innovation and creativity".
"Today's celebration of Intellectual Property Day is an opportunity for the public to become familiar with what the Institute does, and to remind once again what intellectual property is, what benefits not only for individuals but also for the state, the community, and the economy can result from the proper use and protection of all that is related to intellectual property rights", Josip Merdžo, director of the Institute for Intellectual Property of BiH, said on that occasion. In connection with this year's World Intellectual Property Day theme, "Women and Intellectual Property: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity", director Merdžo pointed out that the Institute's excellent results in terms of revenue growth, as well as the strengthening of Bosnia and Herzegovina's position on the Global Innovation Index, lie in the fact that most employees of the Institute are women.
EUSIPR project team leader Miodrag Marković said on that occasion that the project enabled specific training for pre-diagnostics of intellectual property for five employees of the Institute for Intellectual Property, which is a completely new service on the territory of BiH that the Institute will provide. "If it is properly implemented, it will be the greatest support for the development of the economy that the Institute, given its authority, can provide," said Marković.
The IP pre-diagnostics service was presented by Goran Trifković, an expert advisor at the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, pointing out that this service will enable companies to effectively manage their intellectual property and encourage them to further invest and innovate.
As part of the EUSIPR project, a review of the entire legislation on intellectual property in Bosnia and Herzegovina was carried out, and soon the drafts of eight new laws on intellectual property in BiH will be open for public discussion. "The goal is to harmonize laws with European norms so that BiH will be as ready as possible in that area in the process of joining the EU," emphasized director Merdžo.
Within the framework of the conference, a panel discussion "Women and intellectual property" was held, in which Ljubica Kozić, deputy director and Vesna Vuletić Bebek, assistant director at the Institute for Intellectual Property of BiH, Erna Šošević, entrepreneur and Maja Halilović, biodesigner participated. The participants of the panel discussion pointed to the increasing role of women in the field of innovation and creative industries, but also to the still insufficient representation and the need for additional financial and other incentives, as well as to the need of proactivity of women themselves in that area.
At the conference, the winning works were presented and the award ceremony of the public tender on the topic "Women and Intellectual Property: Improving Innovation and Creativity" was held. The winners of the awards are Berina Ibrić from Zavidovići for the work "Silenced Voice", Karla Kevo from Stolac for the work "Woman to Woman" and Sara Čilić from Medjugorje for the work "Female act from intellectual reflection to intuitive knowledge".
World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated every year on April 26, with the aim of promoting the role that intellectual property rights play in fostering creativity and innovation.
